Behind another closed Door
by Tenxtena
Summary: Because when in doubt, think the worst


"Hey! HEYHEYHEYHEY!!" D-Trix yelled, leaning over the banister of the second story outside that lead to one of the apartment door. He raced down, never taking his eyes off of his Taiwanese friend or the fact that the purple haired dancer was picking up his girlfriend and trying to drag her over to the pool. D-trix, ever so gracefully, jumped on Feng's back; the taller man staggered and fell forward, mercifully NOT on the small pinay underneath him.

"No one is allowed to pick up Kristina against her will but me!" D-Trix yelled, covering Feng's eyes. Kristina sat up, 'hmphed' and stalked off to stand by the food. The DJ stand was blaring a blend of remixes and slower songs, and Brian waved to Kristina as she walked by from behind the turn table. Steve and Ryan had helped roll in the massive above ground pool that somehow, miraculously, they had squeezed through the alley way and into the side yard of Annette's fourplex. The entire block had closed off all the streets and were holding a MASSIVE block party in the park, but Annette had decided to invite her best friends… and the entirety of Quest Crew, for a smaller get together. Even Andy and Aris came down, taking time away from their busy teaching schedule in order to bond with the new girls (and one guy) in the crews' life. So they were all stretched out around the yard; Steve, Lydia and her boyfriend Patrick were lounging in the pool, although Steve was being ignored for the most part. Brian, DJ-ing, mixed the songs as Ryan and Victor sat on the steps and saw who could run up and down the most without either passing out or falling to their death. D-Trix was chatting with Aris and Andy by the punch bowl, though as Kristina began to peel away her oversized shirt to sit in the pool, Dominic was quickly distracted. Feng stood up and brushed off the front of his shirt, then looked up, confused. Something was wrong; where was Annette, Eriol and her boyfriend, Hok?

As if on cue, the side door that lead from the house opened and Annette came out, holding a massive tray of buffalo wings, and her friends were on her heels. Eriol held a bowl of home made mac n' cheese, and poor Hok behind her held the paper towels, plates, plastic ware, three 2-gallon containers of various sodas and had a plastic bag of chips between his teeth. The door left ajar, every savory smell imaginable wafted from the kitchen, and everyone looked up and gravitated towards the smell; Annette raced forward and blocked the door, death glaring everyone.

"Don't you dare, I'm not done." Feng sniffed pitifully, and rolling her eyes, Annette grabbed a breadstick from the table inside and offered it to him.

Smiling, he took and gave a quick peck on her cheek before running off towards Ryan. She grinned and turned around to face Eriol and Hok, who had stuck his head through the doorway and was inhaling deeply.

"Calm down, you two are on kitchen duty anyway, at least for the next.." she checked her watch, "sixteen minutes. When the clock hits 2:44, take the chicken out of the oven and put in the sheet of cookies, they're in the fridge. I gotta go set up the rest of the food outside." And with that, she pushed Hok into the kitchen and shut the door. She hopped down the steps, laughed as she dodged a splash from Steve, and began arranging the plates and uncovering the food she made for their mini party. She suddenly remembered another instruction to give to Eriol and Hok, Lord knows they wouldn't know to turn the temperature down on the oven when going from chicken to cookies, so she ran back, only to stop short of the door.

"Don't worry, mahal. It won't hurt."

Annette's eyes were wide as she stared at the door. What on earth were they doing in there?

"I know… and I want this sooo bad. I've needed it for awhile."

There was no way she was gonna listen to this. There is no way that Eriol was doing what it REALLY REALLY sounded like she was, so she went to turn around, only to run smack into Victor's chest.

She looked up, wondering why on Earth he was standing so close.

"What are you listening to?"

She opened her mouth to respond when a long winded, muffled moan floated through the window and into earshot of the now four people that stood on the stoop. Annette clamped her mouth shut, giggles bubbling up to her throat and turned red in the face by sheer force of will. Victor exchanged glances with Ryan, who was standing behind Annette with his hands on her shoulders, and Steve, who was dripping wet on the concrete.

Eriol let out a contented sigh as she spoke up. "How on earth did you get so good at this?"

"Just practice… I do it on myself a lot, so I know what works and what doesn't."

The guys looked mortified; they didn't know whether to crack up or be concerned that they were still listening to this pretty private conversation. Aris came over and was about to ask why everyone was cluttered around the door, but Steve clamped a hand over his mouth and stared, horrorstruck.

'Eriol?' he mouthed to Annette, who shrugged and pushed her way through the rest of the crowd, that now consisted of everyone, even the other two in the pool.

She stopped short as a sharp cry pierced the air, and slowly she turned around.

"Oh, Hok… stop. This hurts way more than I thought it would. Ohhh…" she groaned again, with Hok reply quickly following.

"Mahal, you know I'm doing this for you. Just, try to relax, alright? It'll get so much better once I work on it for awhile."

Annette stared at the group, huddled by the door, and made herself remember each and every one of their priceless faces. Kristina had her face buried in her towel, blushing so hard the ends of her ears were darker. In front of her, Dominic was self consciously crossing his arms over his stomach, attempting to speak but only releasing meaningless sounds. Andy was silently choking on his drink, and Aris was attempting to pat his back softly without whacking the breath out of him; Patrick, with an arm snaked around Lydia's waist, was gaping at the door and muttering 'There's no way…there's no way…'. Feng, breathing heavily, was looking back and forth between the door and the spiky blonde, pursing his lips in what seemed like annoyance. She pointed a silent finger at him, as if to say "Don't even think about it", then turned her attention to her best friend and hair buddy. His reaction was by far the funniest; he had slid down from his back onto a sitting position, his left arm wrapped completely around the back of his head and shaking it softly, his right hand pawing Victor's leg. The upright man with the fierce red streak had begun to flush madly and looked around wildly, anywhere but the door.

" I know… I already feel a lot more relaxed. You're amazing."

"I know." Hok chuckled softly, "Do you think you could do this for me a little later?" He asked with a smile.

Eriol smiled and with a halfhearted sarcastic tone, replied "Maaaaaybe… if you're good."

The guys outside had a mass freak-out, silently. D-Trix opened his mouth and covered it with a fist, hopping around the backyard. Aris and Patrick busted out in laughter, biting the inside of their cheeks to keep quiet, while Kristina and Lydia simply glanced at each other in shock, mouths agape. Andy tried to drag Ryan from his fetal position, but he had sunk even deeper into his state of oblivion and now had both arms firmly above his head. Victor and Feng just looked at Annette expectantly, as if she could just make all the sounds just suddenly stop and erase the memories they now had. But poor Steve seemed to have the worst reaction; his hands were to his mouth, and tears were POURING out of his eyes. Who knew he'd be THAT affected?

She couldn't take it anymore; she was determined to prove that Eriol, was NOT, in fact, being disturbingly intimate with her boyfriend in the KITCHEN. Annette COOKED there…. Eriol would have more sense than that!

She marched forward, pushing past the guys. They tried to stop her, snagging the back of her jacket, not wanting her to walk in on the private, frightening moment. She just grabbed Steve's wrist and pulled him with her, then turned around and whispered harshly , "Now, listen! Ryan, get up…" She waited for the Filipino to at least turn his face up, eyes wide, before continuing.

"Now, I know it sounds really really bad, but I'm going to prove that its not what it seems. And its 2:46 and I don't think they looked at my chicken yet."

With that, she dragged Steve with her, and pushed open the door, which flew open with the weight of six people on. She was clutching the doorknob, Steve rushing forward, with Ryan's head curling around between her legs and Victor holding onto her right shoulder. There in the kitchen, Eriol sat on a chair with her chest resting on the back, her head resting on her arms. Hok stood directly behind her, kneading her shoulders calmly and looked over, eyebrows raised. Eriol moved her head over to see Annette, then replied

"Oh damn. The chicken."

Getting up, she walked over to the oven and opened it slightly, wincing at the mild blast of heat.

"Okay, so where are the potholders?"

Steve, in a sudden rush of unexplained emotion, burst into tears and rushed forward to hug his friend. Confused, she looked around at the other blank expressions and asked him what was wrong.

"*hic* We t-thought… th-that *hic*.. Well, Annette di-din't think soooo, b-but *hic*… I THOUGHT HOK WAS STEALING YOUR INNOCENCE!!"

Seriously… a thumbtack dropping would be EAR shattering in a silence like the one that followed.

"Dood… WHAT?"

"Can we just.. Move past all this? My cookies are drying out."

Slowly, awkwardly, the group began to shuffle out, with Hok silently shaking with laughter and Eriol ruffling up Steve's hair and wiping his face from tears.

Feng took this opportunity to grab Kristina around the waist and promptly throw her into the pool. D-Trix was quick to follow.


End file.
